What would you get your dear old mum for her 60th?birthday? A photo album of favorite family moments? A lovely plant for her garden? A last will and testament? Eh? Well, the tax accounting firm Iwayama Naoki Zeirishi Jimusho, which is selling the?, a kind of cheap and cheerful alternative to drawing up a will with a solicitor, thinks it¡¯s a lovely idea. ¡°Those celebrating their 60th birthdays will be pleased to receive this,¡± reads the blurb.

¡°Ending notes¡± (¥¨¥ó¥Ç¥£¥ó¥°¥Î©`¥È) are basically notebooks that make the event of death or hospitalization a lot easier on relatives. As well as containing important information such as bank account details, it¡¯s also possible to document who you want to inherit the family silver and to make requests about the kind of funeral service you¡¯d like to have.

The notebooks?started appearing around 2002 and since then a number of companies have got on the bandwagon, promising punters that using this simple document will take a great weight off their minds. They also claim that the process of filling out the notebooks is a positive experience. ¡°Open hearted! Bright! Cheerful! This ending note is a pleasure to receive!¡± continues Iwayama Jimusho?on their website, which insists that writing out their dying wishes will give aged parents a positive nostalgic feeling.

Stationery companies are not only setting their sights on the elderly, . is?releasing a new funky ending note on the market at the start of September. Called a ¡°useful notebook for those ¡®what if¡¯ situations,¡± Kokuyo S&T¡¯s product is illustrated with colorful manga and aimed not only at senior citizens, but customers over 30. Again, the emphasis is on the fun you¡¯ll have filling in the pages.

If colorful cartoon characters aren¡¯t enough to guide you through the process of drafting your last wishes, then , yet another company touting ending notes, run free seminars on how to fill in the book correctly.

Happy Ending Note¡¯s ¡°I Am Who I Am¡± costs ?840, Kokuyo S&T¡¯s ¡°Living and Ending¡± is ?1,470 and the?trendy ¡°Life Design Book¡± costs ?2,100. If you¡¯re thinking of giving this as a birthday present to a parent, it might be an idea to sweeten the pill with a box of chocs. At these prices it would churlish not to.